Victory in Europe occurred on May 7,
1945. Victory in Japan and the final end of the war occurred on August
14, 1945. Yet it would be months before Dad returned home. With the
number of troops in the Pacific Theater and a limited number of troop
ships, each waited their turn. The joy at the end of the war must have
been mixed with the boredom and longing for home.

Four months later, on December 30 ,1945 (a day before his 27th birthday),
he boarded a ship home which arrived in San Francisco, California on
January 25, 1946, a 26-day journey. He boarded a train for the east
coast and discharge (AKA, separation) at Fort Dix, New Jersey.

One of the
few souvenirs he brought home was a Gurkha knife from India. The "knife"
is actually a small curved sword. The Gurkha Riflemen were units from
Tibet which participated in the Burma campaign.